The Archive
by Kireina8
Summary: Mathias Kohler, a young treasure hunter, accidentally follows Askel, the God of Memories, into the Between. After he is saved by the Guardians of the Library, a group of gods who work at and maintain The Archive, Mathias falls unconscious from the intruder's induced sleep. Mathias is forced to choose: a dream life with Askel and treasure, or a life of painful truth. DenNor


**Before we start, I must clarify a few things.**

**1. Hetalia is not mine, so the characters are not mine.**

**2. Mathias is Denmark and Askel is Norway**

**3. I know some people are so obsessed with calling Norway Lukas, but in this one, Norway has two names. Askel, his god name, and Lukas, his name as a human. Some stuff that I can't reveal but it will come in later chapters will clarify it more.**

**4. I picked the supporting characters for a skill or talent or just something that they do. It's not favoritism or anything.**

**5. Later on, in some chapter, I might ask the readers of what to do in that situation. Please keep this in mind so you can respond to whatever I plan.**

**Okay, I think that's it. Enjoy reading! Please write a review to help me improve my writing! **

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Mathias kept his eyes open to any possibility. The other treasure hunters should, in fact. But no one paid any attention to possibilities. They only wanted money. They only wanted fame. Mathias wanted those too, but more importantly, he wished to see the entire universe. That was his big dream.

His bright blue eyes seemed to contain the oceans, like a potion bottle filled with the azure tranquility potion that the Witch of West Street sold. Everyone admired his eyes. His eyes were happiness, sorrow, and loss, which made up most of Earth today. His hair was a light blonde, filled with rays of sunlight, usually messy and surprisingly soft. His smile was radiant. It filled any poor miser's heart into a ball of joy. And when he wasn't being chased by girls, he studied every possible inch of the maps of the galaxies and Earth.

Mostly, he would be sitting at his own little seat at the Newport Bar, staring blankly at his beer, with frustration clouding around him. Most of the time, he would chuckle and tease the bartenders who seemed to have a deep interest in him, both young men and women. However, on that one stormy day, when the fishermen ran across the dock with their catch and when the treasure hunters hid in their houses, Mathias Kohler quietly stalked the curious figure in the long, navy blue cashmere coat and the expensive, name brand umbrella.

"Must be rich…" he muttered, admiring the platinum buttons and the gold seams. The figure wore knee-high, black leather boots, with an inch high heel that clicked across the cobblestone streets. To Mathias, the figure was a mysterious man who seemed to possess all the world treasures. He needed to meet him. Maybe he could work for him. Maybe, he could earn more money. More money, more beer, more prizes in life, Mathias thought quietly, chuckling.

He watched as the man pulled out a key and saw the end of the key disappear into thin air. A small click was heard and a fine, ten foot tall, mahogany wood door without a doorknob appeared. The man pushed at the door and the door swung open with a gust of wind that Mathias felt from thirty feet away. He stared at the man's face, which was young and almost… beautiful… like a pure lady of fine silk, dancing on the ballroom floor.

He slapped himself. Having fantasies about another man? Has he really gone that far? Though, he loved staring at those deep, dark blue eyes. They sparkled as if they contained the midnight sky. Those eyes disappeared, along with the platinum blonde hair, the blue cashmere coat, and the name brand umbrella.

Mathias waited for a moment. Then, he made his way to the door, that had not yet disappeared. He gave it a strange look before pushing at the door the way the other man did. The door would not budge at all. On the fifth try, when he was about to give up, the door immediately and suddenly burst open and Mathias was shoved in and enclosed in darkness.

"Hello? Can someone turn on the lights or something?" the Dane called out into the never ending darkness. Out of nowhere, something blunt and hard slammed onto the man's head and he collapsed, hearing murmurs and footsteps approach him before he was knocked out.

…

"He's waking up right now…"

Mathias's eyelids fluttered open, squinting in the bright light. He let out a groan of pain that seemed to echo in whatever room he was in. He was surrounded by the man he followed, a menacing lady with a glare, an intelligent man with piles of papers, a lady nibbling on a sweet, a man with choppy, strawberry blonde hair and pearly white teeth, and two children holding paintbrushes of assorted brands and sizes.

"You are Mathias Kohler, I presume?" The man with the papers asked calmly, pushing up his black glasses while smiling kindly. "We won't hurt you. Well, Natalya had hurt you a bit," he glanced at the menacing girl with dark blue eyes and continued, "But you know, it was for your benefit."

Mathias gaped at the girl. "Why would you do that? It still hurts!" He rubbed the back of his head where he was hit. "What did you even hit me with?" He winced a little.

"I hit you with one of the copies of the Universal Dictionary, and I did it so that your corpse wouldn't be able to make it to The Archive."

"What she means," the man with the pearly white teeth spoke up, "is because you entered the Between without a Protection Ring, the air you breathe would instantly kill you and turn you into a living nightmare that tries to corrupt the books in The Archive." He flashed a toothy grin, his crimson eyes twinkling.

Mathias made a face mixed with disgust, surprise, fear, and gratefulness. This was not what he wanted, this was not what he wanted to hear, and most of all, this was not what the Dane wanted to do while he spent his time unconscious.

"How long was I out?"

"Five days and… three hours, to be exact," the lady with the sweets chimed, her short blonde locks bouncing on her shoulders as she happily swayed side to side. She adjusted her red headband. "How rude of ourselves, we have not introduced ourselves, Mathias," she addressed the man now sitting up on a cot in the corner of the study, surprising him. "My name is Bella, and I am the Goddess of Waffles!" She laughed. "Not really, I'm one of the Gods of Love, more specifically, Goddess of Sweets!"

Mathias raised an eyebrow. "A Goddess?"

"He doesn't believe me!" She acted heartbroken and dramatic.

The man Mathias had followed spoke up next.

"I am Askel, the God of Memories, one of the Gods of Knowledge." Askel calmly stared at Mathias, holding out a hand. They shook hands, though Askels were freezing cold. Mathias shivered slightly as the memory of his first treasure hunt ran through his mind.

"I am another God of Knowledge. I am the God of Scribes, Eduard," the man with the papers spoke, pushing up his glasses again. "And I really need to fix my glasses. They always slide down," he smiled, comfortingly.

"I am Natalya, as you know, and I am one of the Gods of War. I am the Blade Goddess," Natalya glared coldly at Mathias before flipping her platinum blonde hair behind her with her black gloved hands.

"I am Leopold, or just Leo, and I am a minor God of Art," a young boy with long silver braids that reached his knees quietly muttered.

"Why is your hair so long? It's longer than a girl's!" Mathias laughed, heartily, slapping the boy on the back.

"It's art! Art is independence!" Leo roared back. "If you cannot recognize my art, you are not allowed to speak to me at all!"

"Calm yourself, Leo!" a girl about his age ran up and gently placed her hands on his shaking shoulders. Then, she turned to Mathias once her friend was calm. "I'm Paulette and I'm another God of Art. But, less Leo-ish," she crossed her arms and looked quite proud.

"And I, Vladimir, am one of the Gods of War, and I am the God of Bloodshed. Though, I am also a former prince of the Vampires, but that's in the past!" The strawberry blonde waved his hand, dismissing the idea of Vampires. Now, Mathias could see that when Vladimir grinned, or smiled at the least, his fangs caught the most attention.

"Together, we maintain The Archive," Askel spoke. After seeing the Dane's confused face, the rest of the group smiled. Suddenly, a loud clang was heard from outside one of the doors. Smiles faded and lips were pulled into thin frowns.

"Something's headed to the main doors..." Askel glanced at Vladimir, who immediately ran to their right to the grand doors up at the front of The Archive. "Find it, cleanse it, kill it, make sure it does not get to the books!" Askel shouted, running to the left. Everyone else followed, except Mathias who shivered.

"When I was in the Between, did he say those same words to them? Find it, cleanse it, kill it?"


End file.
